


Fire and Gold

by thenerdwiththetriangletattoo



Category: Gravity Falls, ParaNorman (2012)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), BillDip, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Human Bill Cipher, I can't even pls, I may keep it going, M/M, Mabcifica, So much angst, Started as a songfic, Tad is a fuckboy, but it's also pretty good???, idk - Freeform, my shitty writing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-03-26
Packaged: 2018-05-29 01:42:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6353845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenerdwiththetriangletattoo/pseuds/thenerdwiththetriangletattoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of Weirdmageddon, Dipper was never able to convince himself to go back to Gravity Falls. But when he starts having a recurring dream, and his best friend Norman has a vision of his childhood nightmare, he has no choice but to face his fears in order to protect his family. </p><p>Norman has to put together a story of heartbreak and betrayal, because Dipper sure won't tell him everything, and no one else seems to know the full extent. </p><p>In which Mabel ultimately makes the biggest sacrifice to make her brother happy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> Here it goes
> 
> God help me I have no beta

**_When the darkness creeps in,_ **

**_I feel my nightmares watching me._ **

**_And when my dreams are sleeping,_ **

**_I feel my nightmares watching me._ **

It started when he slept.

Dipper was very accustomed to nightmares. In fact, he’d had them every night since he was twelve. They weren’t always _scary_ , perse, but there was a discreet line between nightmares and dreams, not that Dipper could tell you what that line was anymore.

Sometimes they were simply memories of from his childhood. He’d ask a girl out and get rejected in front of everyone. He sneezed (oh Gods forbid) in front of Wendy and dealt with endless laughter and pointing. A failed attempt at talking to Wendy, falling on his face in front of a crowd of people, disappointing Grunkle Stan.

But recently he was running through the forest—a forest that could only belong to Gravity Falls. Though it’d been nearly ten years since he’d gone, he knew every tree and every hill. And he didn’t know what he was running from, but he knew that he couldn’t run fast enough. And the dream always ended the same way. He was running, he looked over his shoulder, and he woke up.

They started changing when he and Mabel separated to go to different colleges. Dipper had resorted to a small, private university near his home in Piedmont, California. Mabel, who had maintained a steady relationship with her friends from Oregon over the many years, decided to go back “home” and attend a college in Gravity Falls with Pacifica. When she’d first suggested it, Dipper had refused. That wasn’t his home, and he never wanted anything to do with that town again. Not after what had nearly happened at the end of their first summer.

Not until he’d found Bill Cipher.

He wouldn’t let her go back there and risk getting hurt again.

This had, of course, caused a bit of a falling out between the siblings. Needless to say, Mabel was in Gravity Falls and they didn’t talk much.

But Dipper knew that the sudden shift in his nightmares had something to do with his and Mabel’s big fight.  

“You’re thinking too much again, man,” came a voice from next to him. When Dipper glanced up from the journal he’d been doodling in, pale blue eyes watched him in amusement. He looked back down at the paper and sighed at the messy eye he’d drawn over the history question he was supposed to be answering. He slammed it shut and leaned back in his chair.

“What’s going on, Dip? You look tired. Like, more tired than usual. And you obviously aren’t pulling all-nighters to study for our history exam, so what is it?” He smiled that signature lazy, gentle Norman Babcock smile. Dipper hated how well Norman knew him. Knowing there was no way to sweep it under the rug anymore, he sighed and sat up to look at his friend.

“Okay so…you know those dreams I have?” he started.

“You mean nightmares? Yeah.”

“Dreams, nightmares, whatever.”

“Dip?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re chewing on your shirt…” Norman said, amused. Dipper’s eyes widened and he spit out his soggy shirt. Norman just laughed.

“Okay anyway, the dre-nightmares. So they…changed. And I guess it’s been going on for a while, but they just keep changing. But most of it is always the same.” Norman leaned back in his chair, nodding for Dipper to continue.

“Like…it always starts in Gravity Falls…” he paused and grimaced because _everything_ always started in Gravity Falls. “I’m just…talking to Mabel and Wendy and suddenly everything is black and white…” Norman’s eyes widened.

“Black and white? That sounds like—“

“Bill, yeah. I know. But he’s not in the dream. Not even a hint of him. Anyways, I start running through the woods, and I know exactly where I’m going, because I know those woods like the back of my hand, even now. And at first I’m on a damn mission. Maybe to find Mabel and Wendy and protect them or something, but eventually the determination turns into fear and I’m running _from_ something. But I can’t see it, because it’s behind me. And I run and run and I’m terrified to look over my shoulder. But eventually I do, and I turn my head and…” Norman leaned in, eyes wide.

“And…?”

“And I wake up. That’s it. That’s the end of the dream.” He sighed. “I can’t go back to sleep. I write down the dream and I just…stay up.” He leaned back and sighed, running a hand over his face. Norman sighed.

“Damn, man. No wonder you aren’t sleeping. But I thought you said it was different every time.”

“Well, when it started, I hardly made it away from the Mystery Shack before I looked back. It gets longer and I get more exhausted and more scared. And when I wake up…it’s like I’ve been running a freakin’ marathon. I have to take a shower every time I wake up.”

“Wow, an extra shower to the three a day you should already be taking,” Norman teased, lightening the mood a little. Dipper huffed.

“I do not smell that bad,” he mumbled, shoving Norman. Norman smiled and closed his own notebook, sitting up. “I’m just…worried. I mean…I always figured the nightmares of memories and stuff was Bill fucking with my head. Because that’s his thing. But this is different. There’s no…manic laughter or blue flames or anything. Just…running for my life.”

Norman took a big breath because he knew what he was about to say could bring a couple of different reactions from the brunette.

“Maybe…you should call your sister…?” he suggested gently, watching Dipper’s reaction carefully. The man seemed to tense up even more, if that was possible.

“Mabel? What, why?” he asked, eyeing Norman suspiciously.

“Well, I don’t know man. Just…from what you’ve always told me, you two are best at solving mysteries when you work together. Mystery twins and all that. Just a suggestion, though. I know you guys…aren’t on the best of terms.” He shrugged.

Dipper looked away and clenched his fists a bit. Call Mabel? Would she even want to hear what he had to say? He felt bad thinking that. Of course she would. She wasn’t the selfish twin, he was. He was the one who didn’t listen when she told him something important to her. Even after their fight, he knew Mabel would take time out of her schedule to listen to Dipper and give her the best, silliest advice she could muster up. She’d probably even manage to make him laugh, despite his overthinking and exhaustion.

But they hadn’t even spoken for months.

After attempting a few more questions on their exam study guide, Dipper told Norman he was just too tired and distracted, and needed to back to his dorm. Norman agreed without any argument and told Dipper to just text him if he needed anything, and to take some sleeping pills to try and get some restful sleep.

Dipper didn’t bother to tell him that he’d tried that time and time again, and it didn’t help.

When he made it back to his dorm, he sat down on his bed for only a moment before he was up pacing.

It _had_ to be Bill. It had to be. Bill was the only reason he’d ever even had nightmares. Before his first encounter with the dream demon, he’d only ever had bad dreams after being forced into a horror movie marathon with Mabel on Halloween or when he caught sight of Grunkle Stan without a shirt on.

Should he call Mabel? He knew she was the only person who would understand. Norman tried, and sometimes came really close. He knew what the paranormal was like. He’d encountered it too. But he’d never encountered something like Bill Cipher. He hadn’t seen the chaos that he could cause. He hadn’t known the…manipulation.

Mabel, however, knew it better than anyone else.

After an hour of pacing and jotting down facts into his journal, he sat down in his desk chair and called Mabel. It rang twice before she answered.

“…Dipper…?” came the hesitant voice. She was sure he’d just butt dialed her.

“Hey, Mabel…” he said softly, letting out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. It really had been too long since he’d even heard her voice.

Mabel seemed like she felt the same way. “Hey, bro bro. What’s happenin’?” she hummed, sounding relieved and excited. So he’d _meant_ to call her!

“Oh, nothin’. Just the uh…normal mystery that I can’t solve on my own. Thought maybe your second opinion would help out.” He smiled a little and sunk further into his chair. She laughed.

“Uhhh of course you can’t solve it on your own! We can’t solve mysteries on our own. That’s why we’re the Mystery Twins!” she exclaimed, earning a small chuckle from her brother. “Sooo…what is it? Gnomes? Fairies?” She gasped. “Do you have a leprechaun professor too?”

“No, its none of th—wait, you have a leprechaun professor?” He didn’t know why it surprised him. It was Gravity Falls.

“Yep! He’s pretty cool and funny. But he’s super stingy with good grades and god forbid you wear anything gold. Paz had to switch to silver because he stole a gold ring and bracelet from her. We got them back, of course,” she rambled, sounding way too happy about her friend’s jewelry getting stolen.

“That…doesn’t surprise me nearly as much as it probably should. Anyway, no. It’s completely different.” He went on to explain exactly what he’d told Norman, leaving out no detail. Mabel sat and listened intently, only offering encouraging hums and ‘go on’s when Dipper paused.

When he was finished, Mabel let out a loud breath.

“Jeez, Dippin Dots, it sounds like you still couldn’t get away from this town, huh?” Though she’d meant it as a joke, it sent a pang of guilt through Dipper. Their whole fight had been about him running away from his problems and from what scared him.

“Eheh…guess not. Anyway, Norman tried to help but y’know, he hasn’t exactly been through it.”

“Norman? Who’s that?” Mabel asked slyly, and Dipper could all but hear the grin on her face. It occurred to him that he hadn’t even mentioned his best friend to the girl, because they hadn’t spoken in so long.

“Is he your booooyyyfrienddd?” she cooed, giggling a little at how Dipper sputtered and attempted to find something to say.

“What no! He’s just…he’s my best friend! He’s seen paranormal stuff too! He’s from Massachusetts…remember all of those weird anomalies and those reports of zombies and an evil witch that happened when we were twelve?”

“Ohhhh yeaahhh! In Sleepy Hollow or something like that!” Dipper smiled.

“Blithe Hollow, actually. But that’s beside the point. He knows a lot about the supernatural, so he’s easy to talk to about it. But he never…met someone who could toy with dreams.”

“Ahah! I knew it! I knew you’d think it was Bill!” she squeaked, sounding rather proud of herself. Dipper crossed his arms.

“Well I mean, don’t you? What else could cause me to have the same dream for almost a year?”

“But literally nothing in that dream sounds like Bill, Dip. I mean, the black and white sounds like the dreamscape, but nothing else leads to Bill. Besides, we haven’t seen any sign of him for almost ten years. Why would he bother with us now?”

“But what else could it be? It has to be him, Mabel. I know it is.” He hid his face in his hands, taking two fistfuls of hair and tugging. “I must just be missing something…” he mumbled.

“You know, Dipper,” Mabel said carefully, “it sounds to me like you _want_ it to be Bill.” His eyebrows furrowed and he frowned.

“That’s ridiculous,” he said, his voice dripping with anger. “Why would I ever want that _monster_ back in my life after what he did to us? After what he did to _you_?” Mabel sighed, and rubbed a hand down her face.

“People makes mistakes, Dipper.” The man let out a frustrated growl.

“How can you even say that? Bill is not a person, Mabel! He’s a demon! And he tried to steal your soul and he almost killed our Grunkles! He turned our town into his own personal freakshow and he destroyed Grunkle Ford’s life work! All for the sake of being weird! That wasn’t a mistake. It was planned.” Oh, Dipper was seething. Mabel’s uncanny ability to forgive and forget blew his mind.

“That isn’t even what bothers you most. What bothers you is the part you don’t talk about. The part where he was human and he was a person and you solved mysteries together and you fell i—“

“Don’t. You. Dare,” Dipper ground out. “Don’t you even fucking do that, Mabel. What happened between me and Bill when he was human doesn’t matter, because he isn’t a human anymore, and he hurt our family. Everything prior to that went up in flames.”

“You know that isn’t true, bro bro. We both loved Bill. And if you choose to ignore it, then that’s your choice. But you and I both know he didn’t have a choice, and he wouldn’t have hurt us if he hadn’t had a good reason. Even if we don’t know that reason. Bill isn’t the source of your problems: you are.” She sounded angry and hurt and even a little annoyed. “I have to go now, Dipper. Call me if you have any other theories. I love you.” And with that, she hung up, leaving Dipper redfaced and angry. He tossed his phone to the bed and let out a frustrated scream. How could she even bring that up to him? Did she even know how much that hurt?

But she was right, and he knew it. He’d done such a good job at shutting that part of his first and only summer in Gravity Falls out. It was locked away in his memories, and he’d even had Grunkle Ford shoot him with the memory gun to make him forget. And it’d worked…it’d made the pain go away, but he couldn’t ever truly forget.

Dipper guessed it just wasn’t that easy to erase memories like those. But it’d done a good job of making him think about other things. Instead of a constant ache, it was a fleeting thought. Like a dream he’d had sometime.

Once he’d calmed down a bit, Dipper called Norman.

“Hey, Dip. Everything okay?” Norman asked when he answered, concern immediately obvious in his voice. Dipper smiled sadly.

“Not really. Wanna go hang out? I need to forget about some stuff,” he said quietly, laughing nervously.

“Yeah man. How about we go see a movie and grab some food and finish off that bottle of Fireball I have left?” Dipper couldn’t help but grin. Norman always knew what he needed.

“Absolutely. Just let me change and take a shower.”

“Yes please, take a shower,” Norman teased. Dipper rolled his eyes and huffed.

“Yeah okay. I’ll see you after while.”

After his shower, Dipper met Norman at the theatre. Norman had insisted on watching the newest horror movie that apparently everyone thought was terrifying. But terrifying to normal people and terrifying to Norman and Dipper were two entirely different things. After the movie they went and ate at a small diner they’d discovered a few blocks from the school. They sat for two hours, complaining about the demon in the movie and how unrealistic it was.

“A real demon wouldn’t befriend you before trying to kill you. That’s a fuckin’ waste of time,” Norman huffed around his burger, rolling his eyes. Dipper laughed nervously and nodded in agreement. Of course they wouldn’t.

When they were full, they retired to Norman’s dorm to finish off that bottle of fireball. Dipper wasn’t huge on drinking, but drinking to forget about a certain dream demon sounded like a damn plan.

And that was exactly what he did. Soon enough, all thoughts of he and Mabel’s argument were replaced with a burning in his belly and the softness of Norman’s skin on his. Drunk sex was something they did pretty often. Neither boy could really bring themselves to do it sober, for the sake of their friendship. But when they were drunk, they could blame it on the alcohol and forget all about it in the morning.

Drunk and sweaty and sore, Dipper finally curled up next to Norman and closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath.

“Night Dip,” Norman slurred, an arm draped over his waist and holding him close. Dipper, of course, was always the little spoon. Norman had joked that the Big Dipper on his forehead couldn’t do anything for his small frame and therefore, he’d always be the small spoon.

Dipper hummed and leaned further into him, letting himself be held.

“Mmm…night Bill…”

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Dipper was twelve._

_He was sitting on the front porch of the shack with Wendy and Mabel, watching Mabel fuss over giving Wendy a birthday invitation that had all of her and Dipper’s contact information on it._

_“Like, I know summer’s almost over and everything, but you totally have to keep in touch. Like without you guys here is going to completely suck,” Wendy said, smiling at the twins. Dipper smiled back and nodded, content with just listening to Wendy and Mabel talk. He was relaxed._

_“Absolutely.”_

_“Ohhh my gosh! You’ll have to Skype us like, all the time! And text us! Mom and Dad said they’d get us new cell phones for our birthdays!”_

_Dipper watched the wood and zoned out. Something was supposed to be here soon. He wasn’t sure what he was waiting for, but there were butterflies in his stomach and he was nearly bouncing with anticipation. Something was coming out of those woods. Something good. Something important. There was a soft glow coming from the woods. Dipper sat up, ready to call out._

_And then the world turned upside down._

_For a moment, he was suspended in space. He was surrounded by uprooted trees and pieced of earth and boards and shingles from the Mystery Shack. He reached out for something, anything that he could hold onto. He heard a scream. Mabel? Wendy? Was he screaming? Everything was moving so fast._

_He was standing upright again, and everything was black and white. Mabel. He had to find Mabel…!_

_There was a scream from the woods, and Dipper ran._

_“Mabel…!” he called, hopping over a root, then over a fallen tree. There was no answer. He ran and ran, growing more and more panicked. Twigs cracking and leaves crunching behind him sent a pang of fear through his brain. Was something following him? Should he look to see what it was? No…he had to find Mabel._

**_Stop running away…_ **

_Dipper’s eyes widened. What the hell was that?_

**_Stop running, Pine Tree….turn around..._ **

_Pine Tree…why did that sound familiar? It didn’t matter. He had to run…he had to get away._

_What was he running from again?_

_‘It doesn’t matter, Dipper! Run!’ he told himself. Just keep running. He had to get out. He had to get out of this town._

_He had to see what was chasing him._

_He couldn’t look back._

**_Pine Tree! Turn around and face it!_ **

_No! He had to run. But he was stumbling, and the stitch in his side made it hard to breathe. How long had he been going? It could have been a minute, but it felt like hours._

_‘Almost there…run, you’re almost there…!’_

_It hurt. It hurt to run, it hurt to breathe._

**_You can’t run forever!_ **

_Where had he heard that voice before? He knew it…but he couldn’t place it._

**_Pine Tree, stop!_ ** _the voice pleaded, and he felt tugging at his vest. He couldn’t keep going, he felt like jelly. His legs gave out underneath him, and he hit the pine needle covered ground, rolling and tumbling before skidding to a stop. He coughed, spitting out the dirt and pine that had gathered in his mouth when he cried out. Glancing up, he stared, wide-eyed at the sign in front of him._

_“Welcome to Gravity Falls.”_

_He’d made it. He was out._

**_Finally, Pine Tree…_ ** _came that familiar voice again._

_He turned and looked over his shoulder._

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

For once, he didn’t wake to his own screaming, he woke to Norman’s.

He rolled over and stared at his best friend, writhing and screaming on the bed.

“N-Norman…?” he mumbled, trying to shake off the exhaustion he felt from running. He could still feel the stitch in his side. “Norman?!” He shook his friend, and nearly knocked heads with him when he sat up with a start.

“Norm, what’s going on…?” he mumbled, watching the man pant and rub his skin.

“Fire….there was so much fire.” Dipper’s eyes widened. “There was so much fire and it was everywhere. It was all that I could feel. And there was a man...”

“A man…? Norman who was it?”

“He was…he was dressed in gold and he was surrounded in fire. D-Dipper, I’ve never h-had a vision like that…” he stammered, trying to calm his breathing.

“Gold…? Was the fire blue…?” Norman shook his head.

“N-No…no it was normal fire. The fire was all over him, Dipper. H-He was suffocating…he was…” Norman trailed off, watching Dipper’s expression go from worried to terrified. “Dipper…what’s wrong…?”

“We’re going to Gravity Falls.”


	2. Apologize

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper and Norman arrive in Gravity Falls (after Dipper almost kills them a few times). There's an unexpected surprise waiting for them.
> 
> Dipper gets a few answers...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys this chapter is so sappy I'm dead
> 
> People liked chapter one omg! The more you read and the more you comment, the faster I can crank out chapters!! So keep the love coming!!
> 
> I'm also really bad with rambling, and I'm trying so hard to be better about it, especially in my writing. 
> 
> (But Dipper rambles a lot so it isn't that bad...?) Anyways, enjoy!

**_I loved you with a fire red, now it’s turning blue, and you say_ **

**_Sorry like the angel heaven let me think was you_ **

**_But I’m afraid_ **

**_It’s too late to apologize…_ **

 

“Man…my parents are going to kill me, Dip. I really should have taken my car. We have finals in like two weeks. We can’t just up and leave school, man,” Norman worried, glancing over at the man driving. Dipper was a man on a mission. He’d hardly spoken since he’d called his ‘Grunkle’ to let him know they were on their way, and his brows were furrowed in a determined expression. He was going to Gravity Falls—a place he’d promised himself he was never going back to.

He’d decided not to tell Mabel he was coming. He didn’t want to get her involved.

Norman hadn’t really questioned any of his motives until he’d heard him tell Stan that he didn’t know when they’d be going back to California.

“Dip, don’t ignore me. If you miss this history exam, you’ll fail the class. Your GPA is down the toilet, man, and now we’re just—“

“My sister might be in danger, along with my great uncles and a few of the best friends I’ve ever had, and if I can do something to fix that then I will. I’ve been dreaming of that town for several years and now you’re having visions of the most annoying person—I mean monster that I have ever had the misfortune to come across and you just expect me to…study and take some stupid test?” He let out shaky breath, his fingers tightening on the wheel. Norman just sighed and leaned back in his seat, deflating a bit. He knew how much Dipper’s family meant to him. Hell, he’d do no less if the people back in Blithe Hollow were in danger, and that made it easy for him to get over Dipper’s snapping. He tugged out his phone and shot a quick text to his boss at the tattoo parlor he worked at, letting him know that he needed someone to cover his shift for the next few weeks, because there was a family emergency. It…technically wasn’t a lie. There was a family emergency…just not his family.

“Soo…Dipper. Tell me about Bill.” He couldn’t deny that he was curious. Brown eyes blinked once, then twice in confusion.

“What do you mean? I’ve already told you about him.” Norman huffed.

“No, you told me about a sassy yellow dorito who trapped your sister, tried to recruit your Grunkle, and turned Gravity Falls into a death metal album cover,” Norman said, rubbing his face. “What you didn’t tell me about is the hella tall, hella attractive blonde guy with gold eyes. Oh, and did I mention that those eyes literally glow?” Dipper grimaced. Oh he knew all about those eyes.

“I only ever saw him in that form once. I can’t tell you much,” he lied. He felt a twinge of guilt for lying to his best friend, but he knew it had to be done.

“That’s bullshit, Dip. You knew exactly who he was when I said gold.” Norman rolled his eyes. “One of these days you’ll realize that you can’t lie to me,” he said, his voice icy.

“You said he was on fire…!” Dipper defended. He should have known better. Next to Mabel, Norman knew him better than anyone else.

“I said a ‘man in gold’ and you about shit yourself,” he huffed, crossing his arms. “Something happened that you aren’t telling me, and we’re supposed to be best friends or something, so you should be able to tell me everything.” Dipper frowned deeply.

“Norman…” he sighed, running a hand through his hair, exposing that off birthmark of his for a moment.

“It’s complicated, Norman. It’s not…something I like to talk about,” he mumbled, his grip on the wheel tightening again. Norman turned his eyes over to him.

“Well, it sounds to me like I’m going to find out either way, Dipper. I feel like I’d rather hear it all from you.” Dipper gave a resigned sigh, running his hand through those messy curls once more. A nervous habit, Norman noted. Dipper had a lot of those.

“You won’t understand, Norman…” he said quietly. Norman smiled.

“Try me.”

“Yeah…okay. Yeah, you’re right. I know Bill. I know him better than I let on…” He said this quietly, never taking his eyes off of the road. Norman turned a bit to face him and leaned on the door, something his mother had always told him not to do, and watched Dipper.

“No more secrets Dip,” he said firmly, pleased when Dipper nodded.

“Okay so uh…during my first summer in Gravity Falls, we met Bill Cipher. He appeared to me in a dream first, offering to grant me…universal knowledge or whatever, but I’d owe him a favor. Of course, this was after an entire of week of no sleep, so I took the deal. He wanted to use me to destroy the journals. He’s…he’s awful, man. I mean, he possessed a twelve year old and threw me down a flight of stairs and stuck forks in my arms and slammed my hands in drawers. When I finally did get my body back, I was in the hospital for several days for broken bones and some internal bleeding. He thinks pain is hilarious, so he really did a number on me.

Anyways, he kept appearing in my dreams after that. Every night. At first I wouldn’t talk to him. But…I was kind of a lonely kid, you know? I mean, I had Mabel, but she didn’t like to talk about the supernatural unless it was something we were experiencing actively. So eventually I’d bicker with him. He always said I was an easy target when it came to teasing.”

“That’s probably because you are,” Norman said with a smirk.

“I am not!”

“Case and point, Dipping Sauce.”

“Forget it. I’m done with you. See if I tell you my life story.”

“Awe come on, Dip. Back to you befriending a super evil dream demon.” Dipper made a face.

“Yeah, okay. Back to that.” He took a deep breath. “So I made friends with Bill because I was lonely. Mabel had her own friends and she was super social and all I had was my journal, y’know? I didn’t trust him, of course. That’s the number one rule. Trust No One. Especially not after that someone put you in the hospital for the sake of laughing. I didn’t tell Mabel about him for…obvious reasons.” He chewed on his lip. “I finally had someone to talk about the strange things in Gravity Falls with who didn’t call me crazy or ignore me completely. And then…he offered me a deal.”

“Jesus, Dipper. What is it with you and making deals with demons? They’re bad news, man,” Norman groaned, running a hand through tall black spikes. Dipper rolled his eyes.

“You don’t think I know that? I was twelve man, don’t be fucking rude.” Norman held his hands up in defense.

“Okay, fine. Please continue.”

“Don’t mind if I do. So, Bill offered me a deal—“ Norman snorted.

“Stupid.”

“I will literally end you, Babcock,” Dipper growled. Norman just laughed.

“He offered to help me with my research in return for helping him into a human body.” Norman blanched.

“You helped him possess some poor bastard?” Norman squeaked, eyes wide.

“No! Let me finish! He said he could create one…but since he couldn’t get out of the mindscape without a vessel…he’d need to possess me to do it. I made sure I covered myself this time and made him swear that he wouldn’t hurt me or anyone else in my body…and if Bill is anything, it’s a man of his word.”

_“So what do you say, Pine Tree? Do we have a deal?” Bill purred, holding out his hand. Cobalt flames engulfed it, and Dipper could feel the heat radiating off of it. He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes._

_“Yeah, Bill. Please don’t make me regret this.” He reached out and took his hand, and it was surprisingly cold. And then there was the pain of being shoved aside in his own head._

_“Oh don’t you worry, Sapling, you won’t regret it a bit.” And against his better judgement, Dipper trusted him._

“Dipper!” His eyes widened (when had he closed them?) and he straightened the wheel, having drifted off the road a bit.

“S-Sorry, Norman…” he mumbled, letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“I-It’s okay man…you can finish telling me when we get there, okay?” He squeezed Dipper’s shoulder comfortingly. Dipper nodded a silent thanks.

He never could pay attention to his surroundings when things concerned Bill, something that had nearly gotten him killed multiple times.

The drive to Gravity Falls took what seemed like forever. After Norman’s prodding, Bill was all the man could think about, and it hurt. A wound that he’d spent almost ten years trying to heal had been reopened with just a few words. Memories came flooding back to him and he found himself spacing out, letting his mind wander to things he hadn’t thought about since he’d left the falls.

 Norman noticed his absentmindedness (generally through the form of Dipper nearly driving off of the road) and offered to switch with him. Dipper agreed immediately. After all, he was exhausted, and he couldn’t exactly save his friends if he fell asleep at the wheel and killed them both.

*******

Ford and Stan were waiting for him on the porch when they pulled up the windy dirt road that passed for the Mystery Shack’s driveway. Dipper’s heart swelled and he ran a hand back through his hair He tried not make his excitement too obvious as he got out of the car.

“Hey there, kiddo…” Stan said gruffly, smiling at him. Dipper couldn’t help the goofy grin on his face and he pulled the two older men into a big hug.       

“Oh man, it’s good to see you guys…” he breathed, squeezing them tightly. It’d been so long since he’d seen them. At first, he’d written, and he really did mean to keep it up. He’d just gotten so busy. With school and…stuff. Yeah.

“It’s good to see you too, Dipper,” Ford said with a smile that matched his brother’s. “We’ve missed having you around.” The sound of a car door closing brought them out of their little reunion hug. Norman stood next to the car, nervously chewing on his lip.

“Oh uh…” Dipper started. “Stans, this is my best friend Norman Babcock.” Norman waved, throwing on a lazy smile.

“It’s nice to meet you both. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Norman hummed and came over to shake their hands because he was polite like that.

“Babcock…why does that sound familiar?” Ford mumbled, scratching his chin in thought. Dipper grinned.

“Remember that summer Mabel and I were down? The October before that, Norman became a total badass and saved his town from an evil witch and some zombies.” Norman chuckled.

“For the record, Aggie was just upset because she’d been hung for being a ‘witch’, even though she wasn’t. And the zombies didn’t hurt anyone, they just wanted to help.”

“Eesh, zombies. I don’t mess around with zombies,” Stan huffed, crossing his arms. Dipper couldn’t help but laugh. “But it’s nice to meet you, kid.”

“These were a different kind of zombies. They weren’t just the living dead. They were…cursed, right Norm?” Norman just smiled and nodded.

“Blithe Hollow! I remember now! There was a series of anomalies that most people just chalked up to a freak…tornado, was it?” Ford asked, taking off his glasses to clean them. “That was one of the first things I studied when I came back through the portal. You’re the young man that can talk to spirits.”

“That I am….” Norman said, his grin falling back onto his face.

“So!” Dipper cut in, knowing that could be an entire four hour conversation in itself. “Are you guys gonna let us come in or what?” Stan and Ford both glanced at each other, uneasy expressions flashing across their twin features.

“Yeah, kid. About that…” Stan started, glancing towards the door nervously.

“You see, Dipper…we have a new guest. Well, I say guest…” Ford chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. Dipper frowned, glancing between the two of them. “I know you two aren’t on the best of terms…” he said.

“Is it Mabel?” Dipper asked, voice almost excited as he brushed past the Stans, ignoring their protests. It didn’t take him long to find the living room. They’d remodeled a bit, Dipper noticed, but he still knew the Shack well enough to find his way around.

“Mabel?” he called, turning the corner. He grinned, expecting a mess of brown hair and colorful sweater to come bounding up to him and to pull him into a big hug.

He froze when that wasn’t at all what he found.

From the couch he could see a mop of blonde hair and a yellow sweater. Whoever it was (God, anyone but him) seemed to be watching a romcom, but when they noticed his frozen presence in the room, they paused it and turned, looking up at him from over the back of the couch.

Yellow eyes that had haunted him for eight years lit up in excitement and he grinned a grin that was much too big for his face.

 “Oh, hey Pine Tree! What took you so long?”

Dipper screamed.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo                                                      

“Well you didn’t have to hit me,” Bill huffed, holding a bag of frozen peas to his swollen cheek. Dipper clenched his fists.

“You’d better be glad that Ford and Stan grabbed me when they did,” he said lowly, dangerously, and Bill was slightly taken aback by it. That didn’t sound like _his_ Pine Tree. “You’d have so much more than just a black eye.”

“You act like I actually did something bad, Pine Tree!” Bill mused, grinning at him. Dipper stood in a swift motion, knocking over the chair he was sitting in. The boy with hair like a porcupine, whose name he didn’t care to ever learn of and certainly wouldn’t remember if he did, winced and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Something bad, huh?! Let’s recap, asshole! You trapped my sister in a bubble of weird and tried to brainwash us all to stay there. You turned my Grunkle Ford into gold when he wouldn’t join, had a throne made of frozen townsfolk, my _friends_ , and you tried to kill me and Mabel. You betrayed me in so many ways, Bill, so don’t try and tell me that you didn’t do anything bad. I will fuck you up so fast.” Bill rolled his eyes.

“Would be nice if I got a chance to talk to you without porcupine watching like a hawk,” he said simply. Dipper dragged a hand down his face and let out a frustrated breath.

“Norm, can you give us a sec?” he asked, glancing over at his friend.

“Dip, are you sure?” Norman asked, frowning and turning his eyes to the blonde sitting at the table. He didn’t look dangerous, but if what Dipper said about him was true…

“Yeah, man. I’ve taken him down plenty of times. I can handle him.” Bill couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the term ‘taken down’.

Norman nodded and headed out to join the others in the living room.

“Talk.” Dipper said simply.

Bill sighed and took a big breath. “Dipper, I gave you an opportunity. You know I did what I had to.” He frowned when Dipper flinched and looked away.

“No, no, no. We are not talking about this. I am not going to sit here and let you guilt me into forgiving you. I don’t even know how you’re here. The last time I saw you, you were stone.” Bill frowned.

“Pine Tree…I didn’t have a choice! I’m sorry!” he said, almost desperately and looked away when Dipper slammed his fist down on the table.

“No! Drop the act, Bill! You had the choice when it came to trapping Mabel. You had the choice when you almost killed Ford. You had the choice to let everyone go! You had the choice to not almost kill Mabel in an attempt to get Ford to make a deal with you! You had the chance to avoid the whole ordeal and you didn’t! You tried to destroy everything! It’s too late for a simple ‘I’m sorry’!”

“Do you know how many deals were tied up in that one event, Pine Tree? I would have lost everything! You had a choice! I gave _you_ the choice to stay with me or not, and you didn’t take it!” Bill exclaimed, standing up to lean forward. “Everything I did for over thirty years was for Weirdmageddon! Every deal, every measly decision…do you know how important it was that I went through with it?!”

Dipper leaned away and let his arms drop down to his sides, his hands clenching into fists. And there is was. He didn’t know why it upset him so much, because he already knew. He’d known for a long time.

“More important than me,” he said quietly, turning towards the door.

“Pine Tree…nothing was ever more important than you…” Bill mumbled, sighing softly, but Dipper was gone, out the door as fast as he could.

This town, Dipper decided, this town was the center of everything bad. When he was young, he’d convinced himself that Gravity Falls was full of wonder and mysteries. He’d gone into that summer wanting the adventure of a lifetime. Something that would make him famous and well known. Something that he could say he actually accomplished something. But the only thing he accomplished was getting thrown all over the place and landing himself in the hospital (multiple times), and falling in love and getting his heart broken.

_Twice!_

With Wendy it honestly wasn’t that bad. It hurt, yeah, but she’d been his first real crush. He understood why she didn’t want him. She was too old for him. But he meant a lot to her. She’d risk her life for him, and he for her. He slowly learned that the love he and Wendy had for each other was like the love he had for Mabel.

But Bill had come along and befriended him, using his broken heart against him and worming his way in like the parasite he was. He should have _known_ better. Hell, he _did_ know better. But when Bill offered his deal…simply having Dipper take him on adventures and teaching him what it was like to be a human in exchange for a forever friend…

How could he have refused?

Dipper hated this town. Everywhere he looked, a memory resurfaced that he’d rather keep smothered.

He sat against his car, burying his head in his hands. He knew it was ridiculous. Any normal person would never fall for an age old dream demon, and definitely wouldn’t still be heartbroken and upset about it after said demon tried to destroy everything he loved.

 Mabel could say she loved Bill all she wanted, but she’d never understand. He didn’t think he would either.

Gravel crunched under shoes as someone approached him, and Dipper frowned.

“Bill, please just leave me alone…” he looked up and blinked at the concerned face of his friend. “Oh…hey Norman.” Said boy leaned against the car next to him.

“Hey Dip…” he said softly.

“Hey…” he said quietly. They were quiet for a moment, just sitting in an uncomfortable silence.

“Are you okay…?” Norman asked softly. Dipper chuckled pathetically.

“I haven’t been okay in ten years,” he said with a sad smile. Norman reached over and curled his hand over Dipper’s, staring at the ground.

Dipper looked down at their hands and sighed softly. He wished he could love Norman. He wished that he could love anyone but Bill. But he’d known since he was a kid that that just wasn’t plausible. Still, he leaned his head on his best friend’s shoulder and closed his eyes, trying to soak in Norman’s calm, comforting presence.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Saying that dinner that night was tense was an understatement. Ford cooked, since no one else seemed to be in the mood. Dipper sat across from Bill and didn’t look up at him once. It wasn’t until much later on that Dipper finally left them and headed to the attic with Norman. He was quiet—uncharacteristically so, and Norman didn’t like it at all.

“So…this is where you two stayed when you came up for the summer…?” he asked softly, sitting on what would have been Mabel’s bed.

“Sure is…” Dipper said, his mind obviously absent from the conversation. Norman chewed on his lip and looked around.

“I can see why you liked it so much. Seems like your kind of place, Dip.” He caught a hint of a smile on Dipper’s lips before they turned into a scowl. Norman looked down at the floor, smiling at the glitter that still lingered in between the floorboards. He was exhausted. He hadn’t slept since the vision he’d had. He’d expected Dipper to be so sour and hateful the whole time they were there, but instead, he’d seemed to relax. He was kind of heartbroken, but he didn’t look like he was ready to explode.

“Hey, Dipper?” he asked softly, looking up at him. “I don’t think you hate this town. I think you hate the heartbreak you remember from it.” Dipper seemed kind of taken back, but quickly relaxed because he knew that was true.

“I fell in love with a dream demon, Norman. And I know it’s ridiculous, but I can’t help but still love him. And I knew….god, I knew the minute I stepped foot back into this town that all of those feelings I literally had _erased_ would come screaming back and I don’t want them, man. I want to hate Bill with everything I have but…something in my…chemical makeup just won’t let me…” he curled both hands into his hair and pulled a bit. The taller boy laid back on the small twin bed, his legs hanging over the ends a bit and stared up at the ceiling.

“You’re a smart guy, Dip, you’ll make the right decisions,” he mumbled with a big yawn. Dipper pondered on that for a while, and didn’t notice he was dozing off until he found himself in his mindscape.

Trees loomed over him and the sky was a dark blue with purple and pink swirls…Dipper recalled seeing a sunset with those colors at some point during his first summer there. He was sitting on a log in a small clearing in the dense woods, smiling and leaning against—

“Hiya, smart guy,” came a high pitched, grating voice next to him. Dipper let out a (totally not unmanly) squeal and scrambled away, falling back into the leaves.

“I couldn’t help but notice your brooding, so I came to talk!” he piped, floating over the fallen boy with a huge grin. Dipper frowned and sat up, righting himself on the log and crossing his arms.

“I’m not brooding…” he started, and huffed when Bill let out a peal of high pitched laughter that made Dipper’s heart flutter a little, but he ignored that last bit. “Why can you use your powers? Are you back for real?”

“Whoa, whoa. Yeesh, kid. Slow your roll. My powers are limited to the mindscape like they’ve always been. And to answer your second question, yes. I am!” He grinned. Dipper tugged his knees up until they were pressed to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He trained his eyes on the beautifully colored sky.

Bill frowned and took in the broken looking boy in front of him. It made him…ugh…sad to see his sapling so miserable. “Hey uh…Pine Tree…?” he asked softly, and he surprised himself with how tender his voice seemed.

“Mm…?”

He took a deep breath. “I know I hurt you. I never expected you to fall in love with me like you did. I mean…I knew it would happen…but I figured it would happen later in your life, long after Weirdmageddon. Not when you were too young for me to ever have a relationship with you. We’re…kind of tied together, but that’s a story for another day.” Bill shivered. He hated apologies and explaining himself. “I know that what I did broke your heart…but I never wanted to hurt you. I never… _ever_ wanted to hurt you. You have to understand that, Pine Tree. I don’t care about Shooting Star, or Fez or Poindexter, but I care deeply for you. You’re…well, it isn’t really a soulmate thing…but I guess it really is. Every Dipper and every Bill in every universe love each other in some way.” He spared a glance at Dipper, who didn’t look all that surprised. But he was listening, and that was something.

“I’m… _sorry._ And I love you, Pine Tree. And I know you’re hurt…but we can’t spend our time bickering and ignoring each other when something big is about to happen that will affect all of us negatively if we don’t stop it…” That was right…the vision…the dreams. He’d forgotten the whole reason they’d come to Gravity Falls. He’d been too distracted.

“Norman had a vision that you were on fire…that’s why we came…” Dipper admitted softly, eyes still on the sky. Bill smiled. So Pine Tree _did_ care.

“Good to know Little Ghost is good for something. I’ll try to avoid flammable things for a while,” Bill mused, and his eyes lit up when Dipper chuckled.

“So why? You’ve been sending me dreams for a while now and I deserve an explanation for the lack of sleep you caused,” the boy huffed, lazily turning his eyes to the demon. He could be mad later. Right now he had a town to continue protecting. Not to mention…a real apology from Bill was unheard of. He might as well kind of take it where he could get it.  Bill grinned.

“Well, Pine Tree, I’m glad you asked! You see, there’s this demon, and his name is Tad. He wants everything I have, and that includes you!”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it is! Ignore all the fluff, please. 
> 
> I know a lot of people who have no problem holding grudges until they're confronted with the situation head on, and then they forgive much too easy. (I'm one of those people ugh)
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! The song in the beginning is Apologize by One Republic. 
> 
> Comments give me life! (and ideas, so feel free to throw them my way lmao). 
> 
> Also, if you want to get in touch with me for any reason, my tumblr is thatnerdwiththetriangletattoo. A little different from my AO3 name. <3


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